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American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates practice their short dance routine during day two of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships at Budweiser Gardens in London on Tuesday March 12, 2013. (CRAIG GLOVER, The London Free Press)

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy have won four of the last five world titles, but struggled with illness early this season. The last couple to go four for five was Russians Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov (1986-90). To top that achievement, the Germans have to beat top Russians Tatiana Volosozhar and Max Trankov. And don’t count out the two Canadian pairs ,Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitc, in the event that begins Wednesday. Incidentally, Gordeeva and Grinkov’s former coach is here, too. Marina Zoueva is the ice dance guru for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

Men: Can Patrick Chan skate here like he did two years ago in Moscow where he won his first gold?

The two-time defending champ needs a good start. This season, he was second after the short program at both the Grand Prix Final in Sochi and Skate Canada in Windsor — and won neither. His Elegie in E Flat Minor opener needs to be finely tuned against short program world record holder Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, his compatriot Daisuke Takahashi, and European champ Javier Fernandez of Spain. Chan has this going for him: his short is choreographed by Jeffrey Buttle, who won his first Canadian title in this rink (2005) and learned to skate as a tot at the London Skating Club when his family lived here.

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HOME ICE ADVANTAGE?

This is the 10th worlds held in this country. Only one Canadian man and three pairs have won a gold medal at home: Kurt Browning in 1990 at Halifax, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier in 2001 at Vancouver, Barb Underhill and Paul Martini in 1984 at Ottawa, and Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul in 1960 at Vancouver. No women or ice dance teams have pulled off the feat, though that could change this week.

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CRASHING DANCERS

Practices at big skating events can be fraught with danger. On Tuesday morning, Italian ice dancer Anna Cappellini, partnered with Luca Lanotte, suffered a bump on her head after a collision with another team at Budweiser Gardens. In the afternoon at Western Fair, American dancer Madison Chock, who skates with Evan Bates, ran into five-time U.S. champ Charlie White (with Meryl Davis).

“Accidents happen and everyone’s trying to get their stuff done in a limited amount of time,” White said. “It happens and we were able to go ahead and do that section afterwards. It’s not a big deal.

“Everyone’s in the zone and doing their thing and they tried to get out of the way at the last second, but it’s one of those things where no one knows which way is best. With five ice dance teams, everyone has different patterns. It’s not as predictable as pairs or even freestyle. It gets tricky. It’s just a fluke, really.”

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LONDON, N.B.?

London may be hoping to portray a global image, but its small-city charm is also proving a hit. “In New Brunswick, when we think of Ontario, we think Toronto, so I was expecting a Toronto style,” said media centre assistant Marc Robichaud, who lives in Moncton. “But people are always saying hi and welcome to London. It’s unbelievable. I told my spouse I feel like I’m back in Moncton.”

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BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne arrived in London and got to check out hometown heroes Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s afternoon practice, at the Western Fair Sports Centre. Ironically, it’s next to the Agriplex which staged Ontario’s largest indoor farm show last week. The premier, who designated herself the agriculture minister when she took office, was a no-show.